{"id":856,"date":"2014-02-28T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/should-christians-take-medication-for-mental-illness.html"},"modified":"2014-02-28T07:03:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-28T07:03:00","slug":"should-christians-take-medication-for-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/should-christians-take-medication-for-mental-illness.html","title":{"rendered":"Should Christians Take Medication for Mental Illness?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
NO!<\/span><\/div>\n
That\u2019s what I used to think!<\/span><\/div>\n
I remember the very first time I ever had to deal with someone who told me they were struggling with anxiety and depression. I did not understand and could not relate \u2014 so, I told them what I thought was the typical \u201cChristian\u201d answer to all problems: they should pray more, read their Bible more and memorize more Scripture.<\/span><\/div>\n
Instead of lessening the load, I was unintentionally adding to it.<\/span><\/div>\n
The person mentioned their doctor had told them about going on a certain type of antidepressant to help out with their struggle, and so they asked my opinion.<\/span><\/div>\n
In a completely illiterate and uneducated manner I told them that people with \u201cweak faith\u201d are the ones that needed such meds, that godly people did not struggle with feelings of anxiety and depression and that taking such medication would essentially be screaming to God, \u201cI don\u2019t trust you.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
I honestly felt that way then\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
I don\u2019t feel that way anymore!<\/span><\/div>\n
In 2008 I entered into the darkest time of my entire life that lasted for around three years.<\/span><\/div>\n
It was brutal.<\/span><\/div>\n
I even gave suicide serious consideration.<\/span><\/div>\n
However, through a series of situations in my life that needed to be changed, along with some intense and excellent Biblical counseling, I was able to come through the storm that had dominated me for so long.<\/span><\/div>\n
Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NO! That\u2019s what I used to think! I remember the very first time I ever had to deal with someone who told me they were struggling with anxiety and depression. I did not understand and could not relate \u2014 so, I told them what I thought was the typical \u201cChristian\u201d answer to all problems: they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nShould Christians Take Medication for Mental Illness?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NO!That's what I used to think!I remember the very first time I ever had to deal with someone who told me they were struggling with anxiety and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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